Skanda Purana — Prabhasa Khanda, Shloka 15

Devanagari script

कार्त्तिक्यां कृत्तिका योगे यस्तं पश्यति मानवः । न स पश्यति स्वप्नेपि नरकं घोरदारुणम्

Transliteration

kārttikyāṃ kṛttikā yoge yastaṃ paśyati mānavaḥ | na sa paśyati svapnepi narakaṃ ghoradāruṇam

Translation

Au mois de Kārttika, lorsque survient la conjonction de Kṛttikā, celui qui contemple ce liṅga ne verra pas—même en rêve—l’enfer terrifiant et cruel.

Word by Word

• kārttikyām: on (the day/month of) Kārttikī
• kārttikyām: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kārttikī (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; काल/तिथि-निर्देशे अधिकरणम् (time-locative)

• kṛttikā: (when) Kṛttikā (nakṣatra)
• kṛttikā: Adhikarana (contextual qualifier)
• Type: Noun
• Root: kṛttikā (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; नक्षत्र-नाम

• yoge: at the conjunction/time
• yoge: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yoga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘योगे’ = संयोग/समये

• yaḥ: who
• yaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; सम्बन्धबोधक-यः (relative pronoun)

• tam: him/that (one)
• tam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; तं = तद्-प्रत्यय (correlative pronoun)

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन; ‘पश्यति’ = sees

• mānavaḥ: a man/human
• mānavaḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: mānava (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; ‘मनुष्यः’

• na: not
• na: Negation (निषेध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na (अव्यय)
• Form: निषेध-अव्यय (negation particle)

• saḥ: he
• saḥ: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा-विभक्ति (Nominative/1st), एकवचन; ‘सः’ = he

• paśyati: sees
• paśyati: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: √dṛś (धातु)
• Form: लट्-लकार (Present), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• svapne: in a dream
• svapne: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: svapna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी-विभक्ति (Locative/7th), एकवचन; ‘स्वप्ने’ = in a dream

• api: even
• api: Emphasis (अवधारण/समुच्चय)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: समुच्चय/अपि-अव्यय (particle: even/also)

• narakam: hell
• narakam: Karma (Object/कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: naraka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन

• ghora-dāruṇam: terrible and dreadful
• ghora-dāruṇam: Visheshana (Adjectival qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghora (प्रातिपदिक) + dāruṇa (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति (Accusative/2nd), एकवचन; विशेषणम् (qualifying ‘narakam’)

Speaker

Deductive (within Prabhāsakṣetramāhātmya narration; speaker not explicit in this verse)

Tirtha Mahatmya

Tirtha: Bharateśvara

Type: kshetra

Visual Art Cues

Scene: Night or dawn in Kārttika: lamps lit, star cluster Kṛttikā indicated in the sky; pilgrims queue for Bharateśvara darśana; the liṅga radiates, and a shadowy vision of ‘naraka’ recedes into darkness.

Characters & Entities

• Kārttika (month)
• Kṛttikā (lunar mansion/yoga)
• Bharateśvara (implied)

FAQs

What is the primary spiritual lesson of this shloka?

Auspicious time (Kārttika, Kṛttikā-yoga) combined with sacred darśana is extolled as a powerful purifier removing fear of hell.

Which specific holy site (Tirtha) is glorified here?

Prabhāsa Kṣetra, centering on the darśana of the revered liṅga (Bharateśvara in this adhyāya).

What ritualistic prescription is mentioned?

Darśana (beholding) of the sacred liṅga specifically during Kārttika in Kṛttikā-yoga.